**Previous Chapter: [[1a. Stories]]** <hr> As discussed in [[1a. Stories]], a TTRPGs allow us to adjudicate disputes about how stories should end. All such disputes are based upon **stakes**: a statement about the story that different characters disagree on. For example, in *Little Red Riding Hood*, the wolf and the girl disagree on the following stakes: > The wolf deceived the girl into picking flowers for her grandmother, giving him a chance to sneak away and reach her grandmother's house first. The wolf wants this statement to be true. The girl wants this statement to be false. Through playing the game—through **gameplay**—the two fight to win the stakes for themselves. A character **wins** the stakes when they successfully add a particular statement to the story. For example, if the girl wins her game against the wolf, the story might instead read: > Although the wolf spoke honeyed words, the girl saw through his ill intent and tricked the wolf into chasing a rabbit in the bush. While the wolf was distracted, the girl fled to warn her grandmother. A character **loses** the stakes when they fail to change or stop a statement being added to the story. For example, if the girl loses her game against the wolf, the story will still read: > The wolf deceived the girl into picking flowers for her grandmother, giving him a chance to sneak away and reach her grandmother's house first. As such, all gameplay is defined by the characters' efforts to win particular sets of stakes—to make certain statements about the story true or false. <hr> **Next Chapter: [[1c. Characters]]**